Madrassa headmaster Kazi Masum Akhtar assaulted again for asking students to sing national anthem

Kazi Masum Akhtar, headmaster of Talpukur Aara High Madrasa, was viciously assaulted by maulanas and their sympathisers for teaching school children to sing the national anthem in preparation for the forthcoming Republic Day on 26 January.

Representational image. IBNLive

According to The New Indian Express, the headmaster was attacked because the radical Muslic clerics were in support of the Islamic State. The maulvis have called the national anthem a "sacrilege" and a "Hindutva song" and issued a fatwa against Akhtar, according to the report.

This is not the first time that Akhtar has been attacked and targeted. A frenzied mob had attacked him for being anti-Islamic in April 2015. After the assault, according to a Hindustan Times report, local fundamentalists had asked Akhtar to wear a skull cap and grow a beard if he planned to return to the school to teach.

Akhtar had to go through multiple struggles to get back to teaching. According to The New Indian Express, the maulvis have asked Akhtar to take photos each week to show them the progress of his beard.

Akhtar has time and again sought help from the police and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the West Bengal Madrasa Board chairman, but he did not find any assurance, according to The Indian Express. The Talpukur Aara High Madrassa is recognised by the government.